John Stamos

Stars

By his own admission, it was tough for musician and actor John Stamos to shake the image of him as mullet-headed, guitar-playing, motorcycle-riding heartthrob Uncle Jesse on the ABC sitcom "Full House."

That show, which aired from 1987 to 1995, helped put Stamos on the map, even though he'd already starred as Blackie Parrish on "General Hospital" and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for the role.

Years later, though, it's Uncle Jesse who remains recognizable to audiences around the world because of the show's hugely successful syndicated run.

Stamos, a versatile musician and composer who plays drums, piano and guitar, has toured with the Beach Boys. He appeared in the group's music video for the hit song "Kokomo" and played with them during a March 2010 performance on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." A native Californian who grew up in Orange County, the pretty boy rock 'n' roller went on to perform on Broadway in musicals like "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "Cabaret" and "Nine." He produced TV movies and short films.

But he's been a mainstay on television for the last few decades, with a four-year stint on the award-winning NBC drama, "ER," first as a guest and then a series regular, and a starring (and executive producing) role on ABC's short-lived action drama "Thieves."

Divorced after a five-year marriage to model-actress Rebecca Romijn, Stamos played a lovable cad on the ABC single-camera comedy "Jake in Progress." He described the show to The Times in 2005 as an experiment because of its then-unusual format, but it was something he wanted to pursue because he kept getting the same kinds of offers that revolved around "multiple children — you know, 'Fuller House.' "

He starred in a TV movie for Fox in late 2000, "How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale," with director Rod Daniel saying he had much more range than his sitcom fans might've thought:

"John Stamos has more Cary Grant floating around in him than anybody I have ever worked with in my life. And Jack Benny. He's got Jack Benny rolling around in him. He has this incredible savoir-faire and this real underplayed sort of almost cynical, smiling delivery. Boy, I think America is going to wake up and discover him anew."